Questions & Answers about אני רוצה לחזור הביתה לפני הגשם.
Why is אני included? Could Hebrew leave out the word I here?
Sometimes yes, but in this sentence אני is very natural and often helpful.
In Hebrew present tense, the verb form does not show person clearly the way English does. רוצה can mean:
- I want
- you want
- he wants
- she wants
depending on context and pronunciation. So speakers often include the subject pronoun for clarity.
So אני רוצה is the normal way to say I want.
Why is רוצה written the same for masculine and feminine?
Because Hebrew is often written without vowel marks. In unpointed writing, רוצה can be read as:
- rotze = masculine singular
- rotza = feminine singular
So this sentence could be said by either a male or a female speaker, but the pronunciation changes:
- אני רוצה = ani rotze if the speaker is male
- אני רוצה = ani rotza if the speaker is female
The spelling stays the same.
Why is לחזור used after רוצה?